I tweeted last week and shared a picture via TwitPic this Barley-Vegetable Soup from my MOMYS cookbook. I was asked to share the recipe, so without further ado, here it is! I do apologize that the picture is not clearer however my BlackBerry’s camera does the best it can.

Barley-Vegetable Soup

1 clove garlic, minced (Since garlic is so healthful, I used about 2 cloves)
1 Cup Onion, chopped
1T. Vegetable Oil (I used olive oil)
7 cups water (I used 8 cups)
2 tsp. chicken bouillon
2 Fresh tomatoes
4 Cups vegetables (I used carrots, broccoli, potatoes, and celery)
1/2 raw barley
1/2 tsp Basil

Instructions:

Saute onion and garlic. Add remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil then simmer about 1 hour. More water can be added if soup thickens upon standing. A slice of Swiss cheese on top is tasty, or sprinkle on Parmesan cheese. (I did not add the cheese as we are trying to cut out as much dairy from our diet as possible)

Good morning, y’all! My weeks seem to be getting busier and busier. How about yours? Making menu plans are an easy way to take off some stress when meal time comes around.

Menu Plan for Week of September 27 – October 3, 2009

Sunday -

Breakfast – Toast

Lunch -Black Bean Chowder for church

Dinner – Salad, Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

Monday -

Breakfast – Toast

Lunch -Sandwiches, raw fruits and veggies

Dinner – Homemade Pizza, Salad, veggies

Tuesday -

Breakfast – Oatmeal

Lunch – Cheese & Crackers, raw fruits and veggies

Dinner – Taco Chip Ole

Wednesday -

Breakfast – Coffee Cake

Lunch – Chicken Salad Sandwiches, raw fruits

Dinner – Crock Pot Chicken and Rice, Salad, Homemade Rolls

Thursday -

Breakfast – Oatmeal

Lunch – Sandwiches, raw fruits and veggies

Dinner – Gypsy Stew, raw veggies, Salad

Friday -

Breakfast – Oatmeal

Lunch – Bean & Cheese Quesadillas, raw veggies and fruit

Dinner – Rice & Beans with stir fry vegetables, salad

Saturday -

Breakfast – Daddy’s French Toast

Lunch – Sandwiches, raw fruit and veggies

Dinner – Leftovers

For more menu plans, visit Laura over at Organizing Junkie.

Our family has drastically changed the way we eat over the past three years. While we were never big into convenience-type foods (like Hamburger Helper or frozen dinners), our food consumption was still not as healthful as it could be. One thing I have learned is that it is nearly impossible to overhaul your eating habits in one fell swoop. All of the information out there is overwhelming. Because of that, we have made changes very slowly. When I received Nutrition 101: Choose Life! to review I knew that this would fit right in with what we were trying to accomplish.

Nutrition 101: Choose Life! is a curriculum I wish I had had early on in my journey towards healthful living. “Nutrition 101: Choose Life! is a three-in-one family nutrition and health program for all ages that presents the major body systems, how they function, their common health issues, the benefits of good food and the consequences of bad food.” It is a hefty book (448 pages) compiled by four ladies who have done their research and have made it easier for those of us who want to know why certain foods are beneficial and others not. Many questions are answered such as “Which foods affect which systems?” “Why is that food particularly beneficial to the brain/heart/etc?” In a holistic way the whole body is discussed. Covered in six units are:

• The Brain and Nervous System
• Digestion and Elimination
• Respiration and Olfactory
• Muscular and Skeletal Systems
• Cardiovascular and Immune systems
• Endocrine System and Emotions

Many are using this as a health curriculum in their homeschool. Since my children are not quite ready for something this in-depth, Mama is taking this course instead. As I am busy I am taking it very slowly. Included in each unit are chapters, discussion questions, activities, additional resources, recipes, and an appendix chock-full of helpful resources.

Each chapter is short and sweet. You learn the basic overall functions of our bodies’ organs and systems. Some chapters address rampant deficiencies found in the SAD (Standard American Diet) and suggest supplements to fix those. Simple yet thought-provoking discussion questions are provided that will give you and your family a chance to discuss health issues and reiterate healthy eating habits and organ functions.

Helpful activities are included. These activities get you out of the book into real, hands-on learning. Even though I was the one going through the course my children were able to participate in the activities and so essentially they were going through it as well.  My favorite parts of each chapter were the recipes. There is no better way to give a practical application to a lesson than by cooking something up that will benefit the exact body system or part that you just learned of. Some of the recipes did require special ingredients that I think may be difficult for some people to find. With more and more grocery stores adding “alternative” items I do not think this is big enough to take issue with.

Y’all know that this blog was started in order for me to share all that I am learning as I go through life. Nutrition 101: Choosing Life! is something that I just learned a ton from. The chapters I read gained me greater wisdom in how to best feed my family. If you are just starting out wondering how to best go about feeding your family nutritionally beneficial foods, this book is for you. There are also myriads of helpful checklists, sample menus,shopping list, food charts, and more in the appendices. Short articles on health issues are included.

I really have nothing negative to say about this product except for the price. The book is $99.95, CD-ROM is $79.95, and book and CD-ROM combo is $129.95. I believe homeschool families might find it difficult to come up with. However, I cannot stress enough the importance of nutrition in your family and so I believe this a worthy investment. Visit the Growing Healthy Homes website to learn more.

Who hasn’t heard of coconut oil? Perhaps you have even seen it on your store shelves. I was blessed to receive a quart sized jar from Tropical Traditions of their Gold Label Standard Virgin Coconut Oil to review and also giveaway!  But first I would like to tell you my experiences with this particular type of oil. I will not be going into any details on supposed health benefits as that is prohibited by the FDA (do not even get me started on that!).

One thing I noticed immediately when I took the jar out of the packing box was that it was solidified. Yep. The coconut oil was not in liquid form as you would see in olive or vegetable oils. This isn’t a “hard as a rock” type of solid, but more of a softer solid. Take note of this because we’ll come back to it later on in this post.

Tropical Traditions was also gracious enough to send me their book “Virgin Coconut Oil, How it Has Changed People’s Lives and How it Can Change Yours” by Brian and Marianita Shilhavy. This small book is jam packed full of lots of information on why coconut oil may be helpful for you and your family. It also contains some recipes such as Gluten-Free Chocolate Fudge Brownies, Chicken Cacciatore, and Leftover Baked Potato Soup.  The book alone was a huge source of inspiration to me on how to eat more healthfully.

After reading the book I was ready to try it out in some of my cooking. We usually use extra virgin olive oil or butter in cooking. I first tried it in a meat and potato type dish. The coconut oil changed into liquid pretty quickly after it hit warmed up in my cast-iron pot. So far so good. The meat, potatoes, onions, and carrots cooked up just the same as they did with the oils I was used to using.

Now the meal was on the table. We all dug into our food. Keep in mind, I had not told my family I was using anything different in this night’s meal. To them everything was all hunky dory.

The reactions?

Two-year-old son: More, please.

Four-year-old daughter: More, please.

Six-year-old daughter: No thanks. I do not want any more helpings.

The baby: Gaga. Googoo.

The hubster: This tastes wonderful, dear!

Me: It tastes like coconut.

The hubster: Yeah, I thought it tasted different.

So the concensus on that dish was that the kids noticed no difference but my husband and I did. Of course, we all know that it is hard to teach an old dog new tricks (or exhausted parents, whatever), so we had that against us.  Honestly I just really prefer my meat and potato dishes to not taste like a pina colada.  It wasn’t bad, but it was noticable for those of us who grew up tasting something totally different.

However.

And this is a big however.

The Tropical Traditions Coconut Oil saved my daughter’s first birthday cake.

You see, my youngest daughter seems to have a dairy allergy. So in honor of her birthday I researched dairy-free alternatives to our usual First Birthday Chocolate Cake with Messy Chocolate Icing. (You know, it really is fun to watch your new one-year-old look like an Army man with chamo face paint.) Interestingly enough? All the “dairy-free” chocolate icings I came up with in my search engine? They ALL had butter in them.

Last time I checked, butter contained dairy. The whole thought process behind those recipes is still baffling me. Moving on.

I made up my own recipe. Because the coconut oil solidifies when at room temperature – see, I told you we would come back to it! – I was able to use it as an alternative to butter. The icing came out wonderfully. And the coconut taste? Didn’t matter one iota because using coconut in desserts is something us older people are used to.

So? What do I think? I will buy more coconut oil.  It is more expensive than your oils that are used more often so we will save it for special desserts. I also highly recommend that my readers give it a try.

Would you like to try coconut oil for yourself? Here’s how!

Just leave a comment telling me why you would like to win a quart of Tropical Traditions Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil. That is all. I will provide for more ways to receive extra entries, but you do not have to do those.

*To receive an extra entry, you can:

• Tweet this giveaway with link AND include my twitter name: @WisdomBegun . Make sure to leave an extra comment with the link to the tweet.
• Subscribe to Tropical Traditions email Newsletter

And that’s it! You have until September 14, 2009, to enter.